Your 2016 Yawkee Baseball League Champions, Somerville Alibrandis.

By Mark Desroches
Courtesy of Yawkee Baseball League

Anything is possiblllllllllllle…move over Boston Celtics there is a new local franchise who can boast 17 Championship Titles. In Game 4 the Somerville Alibrandis franchise was able to win 7-4 completing the series sweep and winning the 2016 Yawkey League Championship. Somerville has been to the YBL Finals 17 times in its history and they have won every single time, 17-0.

The story starts with the Alibrandis pitching staff, which was asked to keep the Al Thomas Athletics’ line-up at bay. Al Thomas proved to be the most prolific offense in the history of the Yawkey League through the regular season, but the Somerville pitching staff was equal to the task holding them to 11 runs in the 4 game series. Quality starts by Sean Sullivan, Chris Foundas, Chris Costa and Jon Morse followed by bullpen help from Brian Tanguy and Lamarre Rey was a recipe for pitching success.

Somerville Alibrandis’ Bobby Barret was named 2016 Yawkee Baseball League Playoffs Most Valuable Player.

Head Coach Bernie Driscoll had the Alibrandis offense in high gear throughout the series scoring a total of 37 runs in the 4 games. They were able to hit that stride of grinding out at-bats, being tough outs, working pitchers, taking the extra base, taking advantage of miscues and getting huge, clutch hits when the table was set. Bobby Barrett edged out Teddy Dziuba and Will Brennan to take the YBL Playoff MVP Award. Barrett led the high powered Alibrandis offense in hits, extra base hits, OBP, Slugging Percentage, OPS and Batting Average throughout the post-season.

Tip of the cap goes to the Al Thomas Club for a fantastic season. They have always exemplified what we want to see in a Yawkey League franchise both on and off the field. Joe O’Hara, John Kostas, Matt McDougall and the late, great Al Thomas have a ton to be proud of with their 2016 campaign. Best of luck to Coach John Kostas and his wife as they soon welcome a new addition to their family, if not already by post-time.

Congratulations to Somerville Alibrandis for coming out on top once again. This is 7 titles in a row, which equals the consecutive amount set by the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Somerville rosters. If this is the final season for Head Coach Bernie Driscoll, then we wish him the very best. The Yawkey League will certainly be losing and irreplaceable piece.

— Photos courtesy of Yawkee Baseball League